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‘Why on earth is that girl here?!’

Gwen clearly remembered the girl’s face.

It was an appearance hard to forget after seeing it once, but the reason his finger had been cut off was because he had sold that girl’s information to the organization.

‘If it wasn’t for that arrogant black-haired guy…!’

Seeing the girl in front of him, memories of that moment began to creep back.

In reality, it was his fault for touching the girl, but he didn’t care about that at all.

He wanted to capture that girl, whom that guy cherished, and turn her into the same state as him, then show her to him, watching him despair.

However, Gwen could not do that.

He knew how the people of the world referred to that girl.

‘Why does that monster suddenly pop up here?’

A talent born of the heavens.

A candidate for the top ten of the continent.

The pride of the Magic Tower and a supernova.

All of those words pointed to the girl right in front of his eyes.

“Hmmm… I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere…”

‘…! Could it be that she doesn’t know who I am?’

If that was the case, it was somewhat fortunate.

If he got caught selling information that led to the organization kidnapping her seven years ago, he certainly wouldn’t be guaranteed any safety.

‘For now, let’s find a chance to escape.’

Just as he was about to stealthily move towards the door—

“Hey.”

“Eek!”

Out of nowhere, a chilling voice came from behind.

“Where do you think you’re running off to? I won’t let any of you escape.”

He hurriedly tried to run away, but with the sound of whoosh, he found his ankles tied up with a thread.

With Gwen’s ankles tied, he fell flat on his face.

“W-Whaaat is this?!”

“It’s thread made of mana. Just lie still.”

Stella said as she turned to inspect the woman in front of her.

“You’re the leader here, huh?”

Her disheveled hair stained with blood

And her outfit, which even he, indifferent to clothing, found bizarre.

It was certain it was not made of ordinary cloth or thread.

“Hey… what the hell is that outfit made from?”

“Oh! Do you recognize this outfit?”

The expression on the woman’s face was tainted with madness.

“This smell… Could it be…”

“Correct! It’s a jacket made from the skin of children! Isn’t it beautiful?”

“…”

Stella’s expression disappeared upon hearing that.

“I love the skin of children, especially that of girls! It’s so beautiful…

But… if they die, they lose their vitality and return to the soil.”

“…Stop!”

“So I thought! Why not make them into clothing to keep them with me forever..!”

“Shut up, you b…”

Bang!

In that moment, Isabel disappeared from Stella’s line of sight.

“?”

“Cough… Cough!”

“How long… how long did it take to do this?”

Turning to the source of the sound, Anubis had one hand gripping her head and was slamming it against the wall. The tied-up woman had somehow collapsed beside him, unconscious.

“Y-You damn beast!”

Crack!

“How many people have you done this to? Speak!”

Though her head was bowed and her expression was not visible, he could tell.

‘That guy is extremely pissed off.’

As Stella remembered, Anubis was kind and innocent.

He wouldn’t hurt anyone, not even step on an ant.

When she first met him on the battlefield, it was quite surprising.

He had been stabbed with spears and slashed with swords, yet he hadn’t killed the enemy.

With one punch, he shook the ground, and with just his breath, he blew away hundreds of soldiers.

If he wanted, he certainly had the power to kill. But he didn’t.

Despite having been cursed to wipe out the enemy, he spared those trying to kill him. Of course, he only spared them; the imperial army itself was obliterated.

That was the reason he was able to attend the Academy without being executed.

“This is… dangerous.”

Boom boom!

The mansion began to shake.

The pressure he emitted started to crush the surrounding environment.

‘That’s not something I can easily handle either.’

Anubis’s unique ability, Berserker.

That ability grew stronger the more damage he took, but there was another trigger for it: ‘rage.’

Depending on the user’s emotions, his power, speed, and resilience skyrocketed unbelievably.

“For now, I need to stop that.”

Last time he somehow subdued him before he went berserk, but if left unchecked like this, Melian would be turned into a wreck. Previously, some of the imperial army had attacked a Beastkin village, turning it into a sea of flames and killing civilians.

Seeing that, Anubis had once obliterated an entire division of the imperial army in one swift stroke.

‘I had quite the hard time stopping him back then.’

He hadn’t even enhanced his body with mana.

He simply crushed the ground and twisted steel with just his physical specs.

If the mask hadn’t stepped in back then, even that monster would have easily overpowered that beast.

Just as he was about to capture and knock him out—

Isabel shouted.

“C-Cut it out already!”

She pulled out an Ice Spear from who knows where and thrust it into Anubis.

“…That doesn’t even hurt.”

“Oh… Really? Then how about this?”

Puff!

As she twisted the handle of the Ice Spear, the tip suddenly exploded.

“…! Anubis!”

Hit directly by an explosion strong enough to send vibrations through the air, he was blasted out against the wall.

“…That crazy girl.”

Even Isabel, who had been right next to the blast, was left in shambles.

But the flying flesh began to squirm and gather in one place.

“Ugh… It hurts… I really thought I was going to die…”

“Hey! Are you okay?”

When she turned to check on him, he bore hardly any wounds.

“Ugh… I’m fine.”

To be unscathed after taking an explosion up close; was he a beast or a person?

“Let’s stop here. I’ll handle the rest.”

Stella said as she raised her staff.

“You’re Isabel from Akandis, right? I’m placing you under arrest.”

Upon saying that, meteorites of silver light began to ominously glow around her.

“It would be wise to surrender quietly. I can’t guarantee you won’t die during regeneration.”

Before long, Isabel, who had completed her regeneration, began to ruffle her hair as if she had realized something.

“Ah… I remember now… You’re the one he was looking for?”

“The one he?”

“Yeah! And that Beastkin there is also on the blacklist!”

“That ‘one’ you’re talking about is your leader, Ned Orion, right?”

At Stella’s words, Isabel replied with a sarcastic tone.

“Attach the honorific, you damn girl!”

“Perfect! I actually wanted to ask about that guy since my master has been troubled because of him.”

“A mere girl dares to speak to him like that?”

Crack!

“Hey! Do you think only she is angry right now?”

In the blink of an eye, Isabel’s head flew off.

Boom! Boom!

Meteorites the size of fists with speeds matching that of sound pierced her body.

“Did you really think this would end with being locked up after pulling such a sick trick?”

Her limbs were blown off, and holes were all over her body.

Blood sprayed, and her body turned to dust.

“Damn, you won’t die easily. What the hell did you do to yourself?”

Despite being crushed beyond recognition, Isabel’s body kept regenerating.

“This is… the grace bestowed upon me by him.”

“Well then, let’s see how long you can endure until you die.”

“D-This f… damn…!”

In the next moment, regenerated in an instant, Isabel approached Stella.

“I can feel pain! Stop it already!”

Isabel’s Ice Spear surged towards Stella.

“I think you’re making a mistake here.”

“What?”

“I never said I’d fight you one-on-one, did I?”

Bang!

In the next moment, Isabel’s view suddenly dropped vertically.

“Ugh…”

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my friend…”

Anubis, gripping her hair, slammed her face into the ground, staring down at her coldly.

“Ugh… You bastards, attacking like cowards with two…”

“Then call your buddies. The one that was here earlier is… right over there.”

With Gwen bound and the other lackey from earlier sprawled out, foaming at the mouth, it seemed to be from Anubis’s pressure.

“What will you do now, Stella?”

“Well, I thought about turning her completely to dust, but… I think capturing her is better. It’s time to nip these guys in the bud.”

“Grr… Grrr…”

Suddenly, Isabel, who had been on the ground, started laughing.

“What’s so funny? Are you crazy?”

“Yeah… I can’t do this alone…”

“Are you calling for help?”

“Help? They can’t even compare to the idiots here…”

Those were Isabel’s last words as she shouted loudly.

“Wendy! It’s time to eat!”

Her voice echoed far down the hallway beyond the room.

And soon, heavy footsteps began to thud from the corridor.

“■■■■!!”

“…This damn girl…”

The figure that appeared at the door was a chimera, seemingly three meters tall, wrapped in human skin.

 

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